Summary
Description
Title: Senior Director of Guest Experience
Location: Westminster, CO
Reports to: Vice President of Guest Experience
Direct Reports: Guest Services and Retail Department Managers, Coordinators, Leads, and Front-line Staff
About Butterfly Pavilion: At Butterfly Pavilion, we transform the way people think about invertebrates. These small but mighty animals that surround us are so much more than people think. They are everywhere because everything depends on them. They are the hidden heroes of the animal kingdom. As the leader in invertebrate knowledge, inspiration and connection, Butterfly Pavilion works to foster an appreciation of these critical animals by educating the public about the need to protect and care for threatened habitats globally, while conducting research for solutions in invertebrate conservation. Whether it is providing unique, firsthand learning experiences in our exhibits and educational programs, conducting new research that sets the standard for zoos across the country or building innovative solutions for species and habitat conservation in countries around the world, Butterfly Pavilion is leading the way in ensuring invertebrates are protected for the future.
Our Core Values are a large part of who we are as an organization:
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Make Science Cool
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Love What You Do
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Go Above and Beyond
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Lead Change
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Know Your Stuff
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Be Positive
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Welcome All
These aren't just words, but words to live by here at Butterfly Pavilion.
FLSA Status & Classification: Exempt | Full-Time
Work Schedule: Onsite | 5 days/week with at least 1 day over the weekend| Additional weekends/evenings as required for a 7 day a week facility
Salary: $90,000 – $110,000
Benefits:
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Medical, Dental, Vision, Basic Life/AD&D, LTD, STD, and Employee Assistance Program.
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Voluntary Life, ID Shield, Legal Shield, and Pet Insurance plans available.
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Retirement Savings 401(k) Plan with employer match.
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Paid holidays, vacation, sick time.
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Two personal holidays per year.
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Butterfly Pavilion Membership and 25% Gift Shop discount
Position Summary:
The Senior Director of Guest Experience leads Guest Services and Retail operations at Butterfly Pavilion, ensuring that each visitor experience reflects the organization’s mission to inspire curiosity, connection, and care for the natural world. This role is responsible for advancing organization-wide Guest Experience (GEX) standards, training, and service consistency, while driving strong operational and revenue performance.
This Senior Director plays a key role in shaping the guest experience as Butterfly Pavilion plans for capital expansion, ensuring new and enhanced spaces are designed and operated with the guest journey, accessibility, and service excellence at the forefront.
Working in close partnership with the Vice President of Guest Experience, this role ensures that every guest interaction strengthens the organization’s mission, supports earned revenue goals, and builds lasting community connection.
Essential Functions and Responsibilities
Front-of-House Leadership
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Provide strategic leadership and direction for Guest Services and Retail teams, including oversight of a Guest Services Manager and Senior Retail Manager, ensuring consistent, high-quality guest experience.
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Ensure front-of-house operations are effectively structured, staffed, and executed to meet daily operational demands and organizational priorities, supporting high-quality guest experience standards seven days a week.
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Establish and implement staffing models and capacity planning approaches that align staffing levels with attendance patterns and seasonal demand.
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Direct Guest Services and Retail annual operating plans, with accountability for achieving financial objectives through effective expense management and revenue performance.
Retail Operations
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Direct and lead Retail operations, including development and execution of annual operating plans to meet financial objectives through revenue generation and expense management.
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Monitor and drive retail performance metrics, including sales, conversion rates, and average transaction value.
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Collaborate with the Senior Retail Manager to optimize product assortment, inventory practices, and merchandising and sales strategies that drive revenue and enhance the guest experience.
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Implement strategies that increase per-guest spending through effective retail integration within the visitor experience.
Guest Services and Visitor Operations
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Oversee the delivery of efficient, welcoming, and guest-centered service across all entry points and throughout the full visitor journey.
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Collaborate with internal stakeholders to support the development and lead operational implementation of ticketing strategies and processes that support attendance growth, membership conversion, and operational efficiency.
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Establish and maintain clear procedures and service expectations for guest inquiries, issue resolution, and service recovery.
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Monitor and respond to key operational metrics, including attendance flow, wait times, membership conversions, and guest feedback, to improve service delivery and overall guest experience.
Guest Experience Standards and Training
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Lead the development, implementation, and ongoing refinement of Butterfly Pavilion’s Guest Experience (GEX) standards, ensuring alignment and consistency across all guest touchpoints.
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Establish and maintain training programs that equip staff to deliver consistent, welcoming, and mission-aligned guest interactions.
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Implement systems that reinforce service excellence, including structured coaching, observation, and feedback practices.
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Partner with the Vice President of Guest Experience and organizational leaders to drive adoption of GEX standards across departments and ensure consistency throughout the visitor journey.
Guest Experience Performance & Continuous Improvement
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Establish and oversee key performance indicators related to guest satisfaction, service quality, and retail performance.
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Oversee and strengthen guest feedback systems, including surveys, secret shopper programs, and service recovery processes.
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Analyze guest experience and operational data to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities, and implement strategies that improve service quality, operational performance, guest satisfaction, and retail conversion.
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Provide regular reporting and insights to the Vice President of Guest Experience to support decision-making and continuous improvement.
Collaboration and Organizational Alignment
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Lead cross-department collaboration to ensure programs, events, and guest offerings are operationally aligned and delivered effectively from the visitor perspective.
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Ensure front-of-house teams are consistently informed and prepared to support programming, exhibits, and organizational initiatives.
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Lead, mentor, and support front-of-house managers and staff, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and service excellence.
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Design and implement an organizational structure for Guest Services and Retail that supports operational effectiveness and evolving organizational needs.
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Partner with the Vice President of Guest Experience to align front-of-house operations with organizational priorities related to attendance growth, membership engagement, and earned revenue performance.
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Perform other duties as assigned in support of organizational priorities and evolving business needs.
Position Qualifications and Experience:
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8–10 years of progressive leadership experience in guest services, retail operations, visitor experience, or hospitality management, preferably in a zoo, aquarium, museum, or cultural attraction.
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Significant experience leading front-of-house operations in a complex, public-facing environment, including guest services, admissions, ticketing, or retail operations.
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Demonstrated success managing and developing high-performing guest-facing teams, including coaching leaders and fostering strong staff engagement and accountability.
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Strong financial and operational management skills, including budgeting, forecasting, revenue tracking, and expense management for revenue-generating departments.
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Experience using operational and financial data to inform decision-making and drive improvements in efficiency, guest satisfaction, and revenue performance.
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Experience developing and implementing service standards, training programs, and guest satisfaction initiatives.
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Experience implementing and managing guest satisfaction systems, such as surveys, feedback programs, and service recovery processes.
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Knowledge of safety and operational compliance within a public-facing environment.
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Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to build collaborative relationships across departments and lead diverse teams.
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Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in hospitality management, business administration, nonprofit management, or a related field preferred.
Success in the First 12 Months
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Establish and operationalize Butterfly Pavilion’s Guest Experience (GEX) standards.
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Strengthen alignment and collaboration between Guest Services and Retail teams to support a seamless guest experience.
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Implement consistent guest satisfaction measurement systems.
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Improve front-of-house operational consistency and staffing alignment.
Work Environment / Physical Requirements:
While performing the responsibilities of this position, these work environment characteristics are representative of the environment the position will encounter. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable people with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.
At Butterfly Pavilion, the employee is occasionally exposed to moderate to loud environmental noise for extended periods of time.
While performing the responsibilities of this position, the employee is required to talk and hear. The employee is often required to sit and stand, use their hands and fingers, to handle/feel/grasp. The employee is occasionally required to reach with arms and hands, climb or balance, and to stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. Vision abilities required by this job include close vision. Employee should be able to lift, carry and items up to 50 lbs.
How to Apply:
Candidate must submit Resume and Cover Letter to https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/portal/BF46328B155D924EA6F2F1BB949C3206/jobs/71514
No phone calls or drop-ins please.
Butterfly Pavilion is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages people of all backgrounds to apply for open positions and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty or veteran status.
